A new riverfront park will open to the public next month in New Orleans. The Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park will feature 16 acres of green space spanning between the French Quarter and the Mississippi River. Jackson Kerby is Vice President of Construction at Audubon Nature Institute and thinks the new park will allow locals unprecedented access to the river and natural beauty along the area.
According to Kerby, the opening of the park will be where Esplanade runs into the Mississippi River, adjacent to the French Market. This would make the Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park the country’s longest contiguous riverfront park.
She says the park will be a series of elevated lawns featuring over 120 trees, benches along the riverfront, and a marsh themed playground for kids to play on. There will also be an open-air pavilion space called “The NOLA Front Porch” that will feature food and beverage opportunities in the rear and will have areas for markets, small performances, and other rotating accommodations.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place on April 7th and the park will open to the public on April 16th. Kerby says that, while the park isn’t a dog park, it is pet friendly and there will be ample space for people and pets of all ages.
There have been delays in the construction of the park, but nothing of the sort that has squashed momentum of past projects. “This project began in 2018, so it was in planning when COVID hit. That certainly added some delay. But, once we recovered from that and developed a project we felt good with and had the funding in place, it actually stayed tremendously on schedule and on budget, which was great,” Kerby went on to emphasize.
The Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park will create a 2.25-mile walkable and bike-friendly open space spanning from Spanish Plaza to Crescent Park. The next phase of the park will convert the last remaining warehouse on the Esplanade Wharf into additional park space.
“People often say that New Orleans punches above its weight for a city of its size. This is one of those areas where we’re in the ranks with New York and Chicago and other big cities who are investing in their riverfronts,” added Kerby.
The expansive new space is the culmination of years-long efforts
